Rights defenders of Armenia report 51 non-combat military casualties in 2016

In 2016, the Armed Forces of Armenia and the Defence Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) lost 162 soldiers, 51 of them – in non-combat conditions, reports the study of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Initiative. Violence in the army has to do with "criminal rules", says Artur Sakunts, the head of the office.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that, according to the Caspian Defence Studies Institute (CDSI), at least 97 people perished in non-combat conditions in 2016 in the security and defence structures of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

77 militaries perished in the four-day war in April 2016, says the study; 34 militaries were lost as a result of ceasefire violations.

The office recorded 51 non-combat losses, including 19 accidents, 13 murders, 13 suicides or incitement to suicide. Four deaths occurred as a result of breaching the rules of combat service. Two servicemen died due to health problems.

Compared with 2015, the number of deaths in the army has increased, said Zara Ovannisyan, a member of the initiative group "Army in Reality".

According to her story, the growing number of murders and suicides suggests that the work to prevent such cases is inefficient.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.